SAN SALVADOR: A Democratic senator arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday to press for the release of a US resident thrust to the center of a storm over President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies when he was mistakenly deported to the Central American country.
Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned in a notorious jail in his native country despite a US federal judge’s order, backed by the Supreme Court, for his return to the United States.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen said after landing in San Salvador that he hoped to meet with high-level government officials and possibly Abrego Garcia, who he said had been “illegally abducted” and wrongly deported.
“I told his wife and his family I would do everything possible to bring him home, and we’re going to keep working at this until we’re successful,” Van Hollen, who represents Maryland, Abrego Garcia’s home state, said in a video.
Van Hollen said before taking off that he wanted to show the Trump administration and El Salvador that Abrego Garcia’s supporters would not let up in the campaign for his return.
A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.
The Trump administration has admitted its mistake, and has been ordered by the Supreme Court to “facilitate” the 29-year-old’s return.
But the administration — pressed on what action it was taking to remedy its error in lower court hearings — has not announced any efforts toward Abrego Garcia’s return.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said during a White House visit on Monday he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States.
Trump told reporters he did not have the authority to intervene, leaving the man in limbo.
Trump’s critics have warned that his defiance of the courts has placed the country on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.
“This is about due process. This is about rule of law,” Van Hollen said.
“What bullies do is they begin by picking on the most vulnerable. But if we get rid of the rule of law and due process in the United States, it’s a short road from there to tyranny.”
The White House claims that it is complying with the courts and says, without providing evidence, that Abrego Garcia is a gang member. He denies the accusation and has never been charged of crimes in either country.
District Judge Paula Xinis said the case against him amounted to “nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant” of his gang membership.
West Virginia Republican congresswoman Riley Moore posted on X Tuesday that he had also traveled to El Salvador to see the prison where immigrants deported by the Trump administration are being held.
He declared himself supportive of Trump’s actions, however.
Another Democratic senator, Cory Booker, was also mulling a trip to the country but has not yet made an announcement on timing.
Two Democrats in the House of Representatives — Maxwell Alejandro Frost of Florida and Robert Garcia of California — were also reportedly planning to visit.
US senator in El Salvador seeking release of wrongly deported migrant
https://arab.news/pahys
US senator in El Salvador seeking release of wrongly deported migrant
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains imprisoned in a notorious jail in his native country despite a US federal judge’s order, backed by the Supreme Court, for his return to the US
- US Senator Chris Van Hollen said after landing in San Salvador that he hoped to meet with high-level government officials and possibly Abrego Garcia, who he said had been ‘illegally abducted’
The UN aid coordination agency cuts its funding appeal after Western support plunges
- The UN aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024
GENEVA: The UN’s humanitarian aid coordination office is downsizing its appeal for annual funding in 2026 after support this year, mostly from Westerngovernments, plunged to the lowest level in a decade.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday it was seeking $33 billion to help some 135 million people cope with fallout from wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and food shortages. This year, it took in $15 billion, the lowest level in a decade.
The office says next year it wants more than $4.1 billion to reach 3 million people in Palestinian areas, another $2.9 billion for Sudan — home to the world’s largest displacement crisis — and $2.8 billion for a regional plan around Syria.
“In 2025, hunger surged. Food budgets were slashed — even as famines hit parts of Sudan and Gaza. Health systems broke apart,” said OCHA chief Tom Fletcher. “Disease outbreaks spiked. Millions went without essential food, health care and protection. Programs to protect women and girls were slashed, hundreds of aid organizations shut.”
The UN aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024.
The donor fatigue comes as many wealthy European countries face security threats from an increasingly assertive Russia on their eastern flank and have experienced lackluster economic growth in recent years, putting new strains on government budgets and the consumers who pay taxes to sustain them.
“I know budgets are tight right now. Families everywhere are under strain,” Fletcher said. “But the world spent $2.7 trillion on defense last year – on guns and arms. And I’m asking for just over 1 percent of that.”
The UN system this year has slashed thousands of jobs, notably at its migration and refugee agencies, and Secretary-General António Guterres’ office has launched a review of UN operations — which may or may not produce firm results.
Fletcher, who answers to Guterres, has called for “radical transformation” of aid by reducing bureaucracy, boosting efficiency and giving more power to local groups. Fletcher cited “very practical, constructive conversations” almost daily with the Trump administration.
“Do I want to shame the world into responding? Absolutely,” Fletcher said. “But I also want to channel this sense of determination and anger that we have as humanitarians, that we will carry on delivering with what we get.”
